Chapter 2 - The Mother-in-Law’s Ledger
By morning, the sun did little to warm Megan. She was at a local library, using a public computer to search for property records. She discovered that three months before Ryan "left" for Boston, the title of their house had been transferred into a shell corporation owned by Diane Collins.
They had been evicted from their own home months ago without knowing it. They were squatters in a house owned by her mother-in-law.
"Mommy, are we playing a game?" Lily asked, sipping hot cocoa.
"A different kind of game, sweetheart," Megan said, her voice strained. "We’re going to win, but we have to be quiet."
Megan called a private investigator she had found online. She didn't give her name at first, just the address. "Is there any history of legal disputes at this property?"
"Megan?" The investigator’s voice was weary. "I’m an old friend of your father’s. I saw the news about the 'Boston project.' Ryan Collins hasn't been in Boston. His firm went bankrupt six months ago. He’s been seen at a local gym, in his own neighborhood, every morning at 5:00 AM."
The revelation hit her with the force of a physical blow. The "consulting job," the stress, the distance—all a fabrication to justify his presence in the shadows of their own life. But why? Why hide in the closet?
She remembered Diane’s voice. Just remember what family you married into.
May you like
It wasn't about love or marriage. It was about an inheritance. Megan’s grandfather had left a trust, set to be released to her when she turned thirty—next month. It was a substantial amount, enough to untangle her from the Collins family forever. If she were declared incompetent—‘unstable,’ as Adrian had suggested—the trust would default to her next of kin. Ryan.
He didn't want a wife; he wanted a ward. He was trying to break her sanity so he could sign the papers to institutionalize her and seize the money.
